There have been many types of electronic video gaming machines that have been developed. The electronic video poker gaming machine is designed to replicate the play of a hand of poker. Typically, the player is not playing against any other players or against a dealer's hand; the player is simply attempting to achieve the highest ranking poker hand possible from the cards displayed to the player. The higher the poker hand achieved by the player, the greater the player's winnings based on the number of coins wagered by the player. Typically, a payout schedule is posted on the gaming machine to advise the player of the payoffs available for certain winning card combinations.
The forerunner of all electronic video poker gaming machines is the video Draw Poker machine that deals cards from a standard 52 card poker deck and displays a single five card hand to the player. The player then selects which of the five cards he wishes to hold (or discard depending on the format of the gaming machine). The draw poker machine then displays replacement cards for the cards the player has discarded. The player wins or loses based on conventional poker hand rankings for the resulting five card hand. A payout table is established based on the number of coins or tokens wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved.
The classic draw poker machine has been modified to use jokers as wild cards or to use deuces (or even other cards) as wild cards. "Joker's Wild," and "Deuces Wild" draw poker still display to the player a single five card hand and allow the player to discard unwanted cards and receive replacement cards. The payout table is modified to recognize the differing odds for achieving various poker hands when wild cards are involved.
Other types of poker games have been adapted to run on electronic video gaming machines. In the electronic version of seven card stud poker, the player wagers one or more coins to be eligible to play the game and the player is dealt three cards initially. The player then has the option of folding in which case he loses his initial wager or betting additional coins to receive additional cards. Eventually the player has either folded or received a full seven card hand. The player wins or loses based on conventional poker hand rankings for the best five cards of his seven card hand. A payout table is established based on the number of coins or tokens wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved.
In the electronic version of five card stud poker, the player wagers one or more coins to be eligible to play the game and the player is dealt four cards initially. The player then has the option of staying or betting additional coins to increase the amount of a winning payout when he receives the fifth card. After the fifth card is dealt to the player, the value of his five card hand-is determined based on conventional poker hand rankings for his five card hand. A payout table is established based on the number of coins or tokens wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved.
Some of the card games adapted to electronic video gaming machines display both the player's hand and a dealer's hand. This occurs in those games where the player must beat the dealer in order to win.
In the electronic version of Twenty-One, the player is dealt two cards and the dealer is dealt two cards from a conventional deck of playing cards. Only one of the dealer's cards is exposed to the player. The player stands or hits based on the conventional manner of play of Twenty-One and after the player has completed the play of his hand, the dealer stands or hits as is conventional. The player wins if his hand totals more than the dealer's hand without going over the total of 21. If the player has a winning hand, he is paid one-to-one odds based on the amount of his wager. Blackjacks pay three-to-two odds and electronic Twenty-One gaming machines can be programmed to allow the player to perform conventional Twenty-One features such as doubling down, splitting pairs and taking insurance.
Because of the proliferation of legalized gaming, the competition for players has increased. Operators of gaming machines have been increasing the payback percentage to attract players and the increase of the gaming percentage has resulted in a lowering of profits to the operators. There is a demand in the market for new gaming machines that create a higher volume of play so that profits can be increased even with the higher payback percentages that the players desire.
Rummy games have been popular card games played often in a family setting around the kitchen or dining room table. According to "Scarne's Encyclopedia of Games") Rummy evolved from Whiskey Poker. By the mid 1890's, there were three popular versions of poker being played (all so named because they were played in bars for alcoholic drinks): Whiskey Poker now known generally as Knock Rummy, Gin Poker now known as Gin Rummy and Rum Poker now known as Rummy.
Rummy is generally played using one or more decks of standard playing cards--the standard fifty-two card decks having four suits (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs ranking upward from deuce through Ace). One of the basic, widespread principles of Rummy games is that the player must attempt to organize his hand into what are known as "groups" and "runs". A "group" is a collection of like cards, e.g. Kings, threes or sixes and normally a player must have either a three card group or a four card group. A "run" is a sequence of cards of the same suit, e.g. the four, five and six of Spades and normally a player must have a sequence of at least three cards in length.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of playing a game of chance based on rummy which is easily understood by the player.
It is a feature of the present invention to display a method of playing a game of chance based on rummy on an electronic gaming machine. An initial hand of cards is displayed to the player who discards and redraws replacement cards while attempting to achieve various winning combinations modelled after traditional rummy games.
It is an advantage of the present invention that a new and creative game of chance is provided to the player presenting multiple winning combinations based on traditional rummy combinations; while at the same time including high progressive jackpot amounts that may be achieved by the player.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.